Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone published in November 2004,[1] a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The song list was chosen based on votes by 172 musicians, critics, and music-industry figures.
Full list
| # | Song | Artist | Country of origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Like a Rolling Stone | Bob Dylan | United States |
| 2 | (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction | The Rolling Stones | United Kingdom |
| 3 | Imagine | John Lennon | United Kingdom |
| 4 | What's Going On? | Marvin Gaye | United States |
| 5 | Respect | Aretha Franklin | United States |
| 6 | Good Vibrations | The Beach Boys | United States |
| 7 | Johnny B. Goode | Chuck Berry | United States |
| 8 | Hey Jude | The Beatles | United Kingdom |
| 9 | Smells Like Teen Spirit | Nirvana | United States |
| 10 | What'd I Say | Ray Charles | United States |
| 11 | My Generation | The Who | United Kingdom |
| 12 | A Change Is Gonna Come | Sam Cooke | United States |
| 13 | Yesterday | The Beatles | United Kingdom |
| 14 | Blowin' in the Wind | Bob Dylan | United Kingdom |
| 15 | London Calling | The Clash | United Kingdom |
| 16 | I Want to Hold Your Hand | The Beatles | United Kingdom |
| 17 | Purple Haze | The Jimi Hendrix Experience | United States |
| 18 | Maybellene | Chuck Berry | United States |
| 19 | Hound Dog | Elvis Presley | United States |
| 20 | Let It Be | The Beatles | United Kingdom |
Statistics
The list is almost entirely composed of North American and British artists. Of the 500 songs, 352 are from the United States and 117 from the United Kingdom; they are followed by Ireland with 12 entries, Canada with 10, Jamaica with 7 (most of them by Bob Marley or Jimmy Cliff), Australia with three (AC/DC with two) and a lone song from Sweden (by ABBA).
The list includes just one song not in English -- "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens (345); only three songs from the 21st century -- "Hey Ya!" by OutKast (180), "Lose Yourself" by Eminem (166), and "Stan" also by Eminem (290); and two songs from the 1940s -- "Rollin' Stone" by Muddy Waters (459) and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (111).
With 23 songs on the list, The Beatles are the most-represented musical act. John Lennon is the only artist to place multiple songs in the top 10 (as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist; though "Hey Jude" was written mainly by Paul McCartney). The Beatles are followed by The Rolling Stones (14); Bob Dylan (12); Elvis Presley (11); The Beach Boys and The Jimi Hendrix Experience (7); Chuck Berry, U2, James Brown, Prince, Led Zeppelin, and Sly & the Family Stone (6); and The Clash, The Who, The Drifters, and Elton John (5).
Three songs appear on the list twice, being performed by different artists. "Mr. Tambourine Man" performed by Bob Dylan and The Byrds, "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins and "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith and Run-DMC.
The shortest tracks are "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran at 1:45, "Great Balls Of Fire" (#96) by Jerry Lee Lewis and "Rave On" (#154) by Buddy Holly, both with a duration of one minute and fifty seconds.
The longest tracks are "The End" by The Doors at 11:44, "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan at 11:23, and "Marquee Moon" by Television at 10:47.
See also
- The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's selection of "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll"
- Richard Thompson's selection "1000 Years of Popular Music"
References
- ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
External links
- "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". "Rolling Stone". 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2009-11-08. [dead link]
- "Dylan track voted 'greatest song'". BBC NEWS. 2004-11-17. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
- "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" "Rolling Stone" 18 November 2003. Retrieved 2 December 2009. [dead link]
- Most of the songs as a spotify playlist